ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Food Microbiology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1616720
This article is part of the Research TopicThe Interaction Between Food Ingredients and Gut Microbiome on Health and DiseaseView all 27 articles
Exploring the fate of Listeria monocytogenes in an in vitro digestion and fecal fermentation model: insights into survival during digestion and interaction with gut microbiota
Provisionally accepted
Dong Woo Kim1
Saloni Singh1
Ui In Kim1So Hyeon An1Hyeon Ji Je1
Dong Young Lee2Eun Ju Yun2
Ok Kyung Koo1*- 1Chungnam National University, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
- 2Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Seoul, Republic of Korea
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Listeria monocytogenes is a foodborne pathogen that causes listeriosis, a disease with a mortality rate of 20~30%. This bacterium enters the human body through contaminated food or ingredients and encounters primary innate defense systems, including gastric acid, bile salts, and gut microbiota. These systems play a critical role in preventing pathogen colonization and infection. However, interactions with pathogens can also alter the gut microbiota profile. This study aimed to investigate the host's defense mechanisms against L. monocytogenes and the changes in the gut microbiota profile following infection. L. monocytogenes ATCC 7644 showed the greatest reduction (7.6 log CFU), followed by ATCC 19111 (5.71 log), F2365 (5.02 log), ATCC 19113 (3.96 log), and NCCP 14714 (3.38 log), while the pooled cocktail exhibited a 3.49 log CFU reduction. Notably, the clinical isolates NCCP 14714 and F2365 exhibited greater resistance to the simulated digestive process compared to the food isolate ATCC 7644. L. monocytogenes infection induced notable shifts in specific bacterial groups, including Bacteroides, Bifidobacterium, and the Mediterraneibacter gnavus group, as well as an increase in ethanol levels. These alterations may contribute to gut barrier disruption and the upregulation of immune responses, ultimately promoting the pathogenesis of L. monocytogenes infection. The findings from this study provide valuable insights into the interaction between L. monocytogenes and the human gut microbiota, offering a comparative reference for the interpretation of future research.
Keywords: Listeria monocytogenes, Gut Microbiota, in vitro digestion, Fecal fermentation, Microbial Interactions
Received: 23 Apr 2025; Accepted: 03 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Kim, Singh, Kim, An, Je, Lee, Yun and Koo. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Ok Kyung Koo, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
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